Obtaining information about a person's employment status may be necessary for several reasons. If you are a landlord, you might to need to find employment information for a prospective or current tenant to decide whether to offer or renew a lease. You may also need to find this information when deciding whether to pursue legal action for a debt -- if the debtor is not employed, obtaining a judgment may not be worth the time and expense. No foolproof method exists for looking up a person's employment status; however, several strategies may help you find this information.

Search for the person's name on social media sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook or Google Plus. The person's profile may contain information about his employer that you can use to verify his employment status. If the person's profile is private, send a friend request -- if he responds, you will be able to see his profile information.

Check the licensing sections of government regulatory websites for appointment or employment information. For example, insurance regulatory entities typically maintain lists of licensed agents, as well as information about which companies agents are appointed with. Similarly, nursing websites typically provide information about where nurses and nurse aides work.

Obtain a copy of the person's credit report. Credit files usually list information gathered from creditors about the person's place of employment.

Contact references provided by the person on credit applications, lease applications and similar documents. A person's reference contacts, such as friends, family members and coworkers may provide information to help you verify the person's employment. You should have authorization from the person to contact his reference to avoid violating the provisions of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Contact any employers you find during your search. The employer may not give you detailed information, particularly if it does not currently employ the person; however, the employer's representative can verify whether the person currently works there.

Order an employment search from an online search service. These services usually require payment -- if you do not have time to conduct research yourself, this strategy may help you determine the person's employment status; however, these services typically rely on publicly available information that you can access yourself.

Warning

Avoid attempting to obtain a person's credit report without obtaining her authorization. In most cases, you will need to obtain written authorization from the person to order a copy of her credit file.